Getting Older Before My Time

[Macker]

I need help. As a long-time target shooter and gun enthusiast, I have recently returned to shooting at my local gun club. The problem is that its been 10 years since I last competed. I am 62 years old and I find that my eyesight has changed in those 10 years. If I focus on the target my iron sights are too blurry. If I wear reading glasses under my shooting glasses the sights are clear but the target is too blurry. I prefer iron sights and one-hand holds. Any suggestions from the older members of the forum without going to scopes and Red-dots? Thanks.

 

[cmm5350]

I'm not old by any means, however, I have terrible eye sight. For myself personally I have my regular contact lenses and lenses for competitions. My right eye is to a prescription just enough to make the front sight sharp, rear sight/target slightly blurry and my left eye is normal for 20/20 vision. I would say try to find glasses that arn't perfect to your prescription but helps keep the front sight sharp and you shouldn't have a problem. Just switch from your normal glasses to your shooting glasses and vice versa.

 

[OLDSTER]

old eyes

I'm 66 and have the same problem. I just paint my front sights with red Testors paint covered with clear "Hard-Nails".
Makes the front sights easeier to find, so when I line up on the target I can close my eyes and blast away

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I think that even young shooters have this problem, but less, because they can refocus more quickly.

1. Almost everyone agrees - focus on the front sight.

2. Stick with outdoor matches. The brighter light causes your pupil to contract, which causes more things to be in focus at once.

3. You might consider a Merit or other diaphragm-like device which is basically a tiny hole that your shooting eye sees the world through. This improves your view as above.

4. If all else fails, you may try (and perhaps reject) focussing on the target rather than the front sight. However, most of your mental effort should still be devoted to lining up the front and rear sights. This may improve your scores, but you should try it out in practice to see which works best.

Good luck!

 

[RGPM1A]

I think that even young shooters have this problem, but less, because they can refocus more quickly.

1. Almost everyone agrees - focus on the front sight.

2. Stick with outdoor matches. The brighter light causes your pupil to contract, which causes more things to be in focus at once.

3. You might consider a Merit or other diaphragm-like device which is basically a tiny hole that your shooting eye sees the world through. This improves your view as above.

4. If all else fails, you may try (and perhaps reject) focussing on the target rather than the front sight. However, most of your mental effort should still be devoted to lining up the front and rear sights. This may improve your scores, but you should try it out in practice to see which works best.

Good luck!

+1 on the above. What I found whatever you do don't even waste your time trying to use bifocals or graded index lenses. You will find yourself unconsciously bobbing your head to focus on the sights and the target.

Since I wear contacts the best iron sights solution for me was to get some low power reading glasses (+1.25 power). The sights are focused and the target is a tad blurry.

A red dot with just my contacts is the best for bullseye.

A Merit Device works for me but its only good for bullseye shooting.

For when I have to wear glasses I have a special single power prescription that have the same power as the contacts with reading glasses above.

 

[Comrad]

I'm just happy to hit the paper.

 

[Nframecollector]

Try a Merit sight disc. Works for me and I wear bi-focals.

 

[old&slow]

I'm the same age.
Did the special glasses routine with the one lens focused on the front sight. Took about 15 or so mins. for my vision to adjust after I put the glasses on. Then about a half hour of nausea after I took them off. Not worth it and waste of about $500.

For bullseye a red dot is the cats meow. Or try USPSA, big targets up close. Fiber optic front sights help some for fast & furious shooting . Spray and pray and let the range officers sort it out.

If you find something that works as well as 20 year old something eyes let me know..
As a friend once said ,, getting old ain't for sissies...

 

[MKT]

I shoot a lot of competition and have my prescription for my shooting glasses set for the dominant eye to have the front sight and off eye for distance. As stated, this does cause a but of unsteadiness (think vertigo) at first for 10-15 minutes but goes away quickly and you feel like you have your regular glasses on. Have never had any nausea wearing or after taking them off and I tend to wear them all day at a competition.

 

[canvsbk]

I have recently changed my green fiber optics to red, it's made a huge difference to these 60 year old eyes.

 

[straightshooter1]

I really liked Bullseye. I shot PPC after it sorta took over from Bullseye when I was a young police officer, but, after I left and finished law school, I was 32.

Suddenly the front sight was....missing? Wait, no, there it is, but how come it's so blurry, so light colored?

Red Dots were just making an appearance and I purchased one from Midway or someplace similar, but never could keep it zeroed and the dot was just too big.

So I moved to IPSC, outdoors, bigger front sight, and shot pretty well, till that front sight started disappearing.

What is this-a conspiracy?

So, I moved to rifles and was able to shoot well till about 4 years ago, in my early 60s. Then somebody stole the front sights off my rifles, too.

Thankfully, by that time, I'd found shotguns and trap, skeet and sporting clays.

Don't need no stinking sight! Just look at the target.

I know Red Dots have evolved into Bullseye killing machines now, but, for some reason, I find my arm shaking so much that my targets look a bit like I'd shot them with 000 buck.

Just ain't fair!

Bob

 

[Old cop]

I'm 67, paint the front sight and got a pair of glasses for the computer. Other than that my "Progressive" prescription seems to work well.

 

[11e40]

i have found that trifocal's work for me. takes a little time to adjust, but worth it for me. ymmv.

 

[planojack]

I'm 78 and have tried every handgun sight gadget (Merit, etc.). My shooting improved greatly with a good pair of full size reading glasses that serve as shooting glasses. Finger nail polish on the front sight also helps. As an old "bullseye" shooter, it took a bit of mental change to go to two handed shooting -- but that helps, also.

 

[tomcatt51]

I'm 61 and developing cataracts. I have shooting glasses with my right lense (I'm right handed and still very nearsighted but farsighted with a distance prescription) adjusted (~1/2 diopter less) so the front sight is at the near edge of my depth of field. Low light, as in indoor ranges, makes the problem worse. Best iron sight combination I've found is Bowens' Rough Country white outline rear with one of Protocall Designs' .100 wide FO fronts. With that I can float the FO in the white outline with a presciption that still allows me to see the targets scoring lines.

Red dots are the best solution. The "big" C-Mores, railway, slide ride, seem to have the optically best lenses and crispest, roundest, dot. Others I've given my gun(s) to try have agreed.

Just my $.02 as a guy with "old eyes".

 

[358156hp]

I'm 55 and am now experimenting with red dot sights. I know that's not what you really want, but my work with a tube type red dot on a GP100 has been pretty positive, almost boring, so my next step will be to add one of the low profile red dots, probably a Burris "Fast Fire", to a 1911. I have an extra slide I have no issues with cutting up if needed. Like you, I find transition between targets at speed to be the most challenging. I look forward to returning to action shooting.

 

[David LaPell]

From the time I was about five until eight years ago I had horrible eyesight, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20/240 uncorrected. Even with the coke bottles I used to wear I never did see all that well. I had Lasik (or in my case PRK) surgery to correct my eyesight. Now I average about 20/10-20/15 and the details are very sharp. I remember passing up several deer when I was hunting because out past 50-60 yards often enough I couldn't tell if they were buck or doe, now I see well enough out to 200 yards to easily tell the difference. I would not get glasses again if I didn't have to, believe me, the laser surgery is worth every cent you will spend on it. Take it from someone who never had good eyesight and then found out what it was like to get it.

 

[POPPER]

I'll probably be chastised for this but I removed the rear sight on my 686 and replaced it with a cylinder slide then milled the front sight down to align with the fixed rear sight. Lastly I painted front sight with bright orange nail polish. Works great for me anyhow. Also carry a 4"28 H/P with rear sight removed and milled down front sight as well to line up. Both of these carry guns work great for me at around 150' I'm 74 and had cataract surgery with contacts installed. Lastly I might add that I found it wasn't necessary to replace the rear sight on the 28. The configuration worked just fine by simply milling down the front sight for proper sight alignment.

 

[frankw]

A good eye doctor who is a shooter can make a pair of glasses for you that will work.
I am 66 and have always been very nearsighted and then my eye sight got worse as I got older and I needed bifocals.
I wear progressive lens in daily life but looking through the top part of the lens wouldn't give me the clear sight I needed. First fix was a stick on bifocal that worked great, they were cheap and it worked well. Normal vision until I nodded my head slightly and the front sight had clear focus and I could still see the target well enough for good hits. The supply has sort of dried up and the price went up on the stick ons so I went to my eye doctor.
He cut the bifocal into the upper part of my dominant eye lens and I was back in business.
There are other options but not if you want to stay with open sights.

 

[jimbo-indy]

I too wear tri-focals. My local Lens-Crafters store made up a special set of lenses for my shooting glasses: eliminated the "reading portion of the lens" (don't read much while shooting), made the "mid-range" area larger (the whol bottom half of the lens) and moved the dividing line between the "mid range" and the "distance" areas up fairly high. When shooting handgun, make sure the glasses are positioned as high as possible on the nose. All you see is the "mid" correction and the front sight is sharp. When shooting shotgun, slide the frame down the nose slightly to bring the "distance" corrrection in line with your line of sight. It works easier than it sounds. Your eye doctor should be able to give you the proper prescription if you tell him/her the focus distance you want.
I like the ideas others have posted about having different focal distances for the dominant and non-dominant eyes. Think I'll try that soon.
Yes, the Merit device does work well but I can see how it might move in action style events.